I love a good Rocky Road. I love the heftiness and endless versatility. Though, unsurprisingly, I have views on what makes a good one! Ratios matter. So here’s my Rocky Road recipe. It’s easy. And it’s oh-so-good.

Rocky Road opinions

Rocky Road is about as simple as candy recipes get. Melt chocolate. Stir in add-ins of choice. Marshmallows, raspberries and peanuts are classic. Coconut is my must-have extra.

In other countries around the world (I’m in Australia, BTW!), cookies and dried fruit are common. And I’ve seen glacé cherries instead of raspberries.

No judgement. Rocky Road is a recipe to make your own!

The only firm view I have is to make sure there is enough add-ins. Rocky Road has heft to it, it’s not a thin, wimpy piece of candy. It’s a thick slab. Nobody wants to bite into an enormous block of plain chocolate. We want to sink our teeth into a delightful medley of textures – soft marshmallow, chewy raspberry, nutty crunch of peanuts.

So don’t skimp on add-ins!!

What you need for Rocky Road

Here’s what you need to make my Rocky Road.

Chocolate – EASY OPTION

Use chips or melts for an easy option. Upgrade to block chocolate for premium. I use a combination of dark and milk chocolate to get the best of both worlds: chocolate flavour intensity plus creaminess of milk chocolate!

Chocolate melts and chips are the easy option because there’s no chopping involved and they are made for easy melting. Equal amounts of both dark (US: semi-sweet) and milk chocolate is my favourite. You get the best of each type of chocolate: good chocolate flavour from the dark chocolate plus the creaminess of milk chocolate.

But feel free to use the combination you want!

PREMIUM CHOCOLATE

If you want to upgrade, for example, if you’re gifting or making to impress, use block chocolate instead. Lindt is my premium pick before moving into couverture (higher grade chocolate used by fine patisseries, chocolatiers etc), for flavour, quality and also it’s shiny because it’s tempered.

Plaistowe is probably the “best” in the baking aisle followed by Cadbury. And a couple of good US brands: Ghirardelli and Baker’s brand.

As with the chips, I will typically use a combination of dark and milk chocolate though if using Lindt, I usually stick with just one type. For the sake of purity! 70% for grown ups, milk chocolate for all-rounder crowd pleaser.

If using chocolate block, you’ll need to chop it up before melting. The finer you chop, the easier it melts.

Note: Lindt is not cheap and you need 5 blocks. I stock up when they are steeply discounted. It happens every now and then!

rocky road add-ins

And for the add-ins! Here’s what goes in mine. Classic Aussie Rocky Road – marshmallows, chewy raspberries and peanuts. Plus coconut. Reminiscent of retro Golden Rough (chocolate coconut candy here in Australia). Coconut isn’t always present in Rocky Road, but for me it’s a must!

How to make Rocky Road

Hot contender for the world’s easiest candy recipe!

1. Melt chocolate in 30 second bursts, stirring in between.

2. Stir until smooth. (Hot tip – use a chopstick during the initial stirring phases. Easier – and less surface area for chocolate to stick to. Switch to rubber spatula towards the end).

3. Stir through add-ins.

4. Spread in a 20cm/8″ paper lined square pan.

5. Refrigerate for 3 hours (or overnight, or days!) until fully firm.

6. Cut – Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cutting into pieces. I cut into 5 bars, then into smaller pieces if serving to eat, and larger pieces if gifting.

Tell me your Gold Standard Rocky Road!

Thinking back, I’m pretty sure that the vast majority of the time I make Rocky Road is for gifting. Which is not surprising. Rocky Road is a sizeable piece of candy. There’s no such thing as a small nibble. Even breaking off a “small” hunk is a decent mouthful! Unlike, for example, my current favourite small-form candy to have around the house which allows me to take a small guilt-free nibble when the craving hits. (Never mind that I go back to the jar 10 times a day).

What about you? Is Rocky Road a gifting recipe? For parties? Or are you a committed candy monster who will make this for yourself?

But more importantly – SHARE YOUR GOLD STANDARD ROCKY ROAD add-ins!! I bet you make a killer Rocky Road! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Rocky Road

Recipe video above. I love a good Rocky Road. I love the heftiness and endless versatility of add-ins. Though, unsurprisingly, I have views on what makes a good one! Ratios matter. Too much chocolate and not enough add-ins is not good! So here's my Rocky Road recipe. Super easy.

Use chips or melts for an easy option. Upgrade to Lindt for premium. Excellent food gift. Think – Christmas, birthdays, thank you, get well present.

Course Candy

Cuisine Australian, Western

Keyword rocky road, rocky road recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Chilling 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 387cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Chocolate (read Note 1!):

• 225 – 250g / 8 oz dark chocolate melts or chips (1 1/2 cups) or block, chopped (US: semi-sweet chips)
• 225 – 250g / 8 oz milk chocolate melts or chips (1 1/2 cups) or block, chopped (or more dark choc)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil or any plain flavoured oil (prevents cracking, adds bit of sheen, Note 2)

Nagi’s Rocky Road Add-ins (Note 3):

• 3 cups marshmallows, pink and white , most cut in half (firmly pack the cups!)
• 3/4 cup raspberry lollies , halved
• 1/3 cup desiccated coconut (or flakes), unsweetened
• 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts , very roughly chopped (ie almost just halved)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Line a 20cm/8" square pan with baking paper (parchment paper).
• Melt chocolate – Place chocolate and oil in a bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
• Add-ins – Stir the Add-ins into the chocolate. Pour into pan, spreading out evenly.
• Refrigerate for 3 hours or until fully cool.
• Cut – Remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cutting. I cut into 5 lines, then into hunks for eating or larger pieces for gifting!

Notes

1. Chocolate options – using melts or chips is the easiest. No chop, and made for easy melting! Dark and milk chocolate combo is my favourite. Cadbury bags are 225g hence the amount.

Premium upgrade to block: Lindt (best before getting into couverture), Plaistowe, and a couple of good US brands: Ghirardelli and Baker’s brand. 70% cocoa for grown-ups, or 50/50 combo of milk and dark. Finely chop with knife then melt. More info in post!

Whatever you choose, it is safest to source the chocolate from the baking aisle which is designed for melting/cooking. Not all chocolate from the confectionary aisle (ie eating chocolate) will melt smoothly or easily, and some are prone to seizing / burning unless using a bain-marie. (Read blue block in post for more info!). But if you have used eating chocolate before and know brands that melt fine, by all means go ahead!

2. Oil – insurance policy to prevent cracking when cutting, and adds a bit of shininess to the chocolate.

3. These are my classic add-ins. Coconut is essential! Reminiscent of Golden Rough, a retro favourite. But…. you can use whatever you want. Biscuits, any other nuts, dried fruit, glace cherries. Add as much as you want as long as there is enough chocolate to coat everything.

PS I usually don’t bother cutting the raspberries and marshmallows in half. But when gifting, I do. Just better dispersement.

4. Keeps for weeks and weeks! Refrigerate if hot where you are.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 12 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 387cal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 20mg | Potassium: 265mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 19IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 3mg

Life of Dozer

Back to the vet for another check up with ongoing tummy issues. 😢 Clearly he’s gotten into something he shouldn’t have – again! It’s been over a week now, so I’m a little worried so I took him to the vet again. He’s had various blood tests and all have come back clear.

Here he is, wondering if the bandage is edible (the bandage was for the blood test patch).

For now he’s on a strict gastro-intestinal dog food diet. No treats, no taste testing, not even a drizzle of canned fish juices to make the dry food more interesting.

He’s so unimpressed with this new diet! Hopefully it won’t be for too long and he’ll bounce back to his normal self.

The post Rocky Road appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Here’s a copycat recipe for Australia’s (current) favourite confectionary – Golden Gaytime Popcorn! Caramel popcorn drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with biscuits crumbs, it’s ridiculously addictive but rather expensive. Save a fortune by making it yourself!

Golden Gaytime Popcorn

Popcorn and candy lovers alike were in a tizzy of excitement with Golden Gaytime Popcorn was first released. Yours truly included. The chatter between closet popcorn-loving friends, however, quickly moved from “Far out, this is crazy good!” to “OMG can you believe it’s so expensive”??

Named as such because it’s a popcorn version of a beloved Australian’s ice cream called Golden Gaytime, one packet of the Gaytime popcorn is $5.75 for 100g (3.5 oz). A small bag with just 2 cups of Gaytime popcorn. I can’t afford to feed my addiction!!

Which, of course, lead to what was affectionately dubbed The Gaytime Popcorn Project – a homemade version I was confident I could create for 80% cheaper. How’d I do? My report card is at the bottom of the post!

Store-bought Golden Gaytime popcorn

A quick inspection of the ingredients label was all I needed to come up with a copycat recipe. It’s really just caramel popcorn with a drizzle of chocolate and sprinkling of biscuit crumbs.

However, my homemade Gaytime Popcorn is far more generous on the chocolate drizzling (oh, why not? 😇). And you won’t break the bank!

Hmm, I did a “sprinkling of biscuit crumbs”, didn’t I. But it looks more like I’m assertively throwing biscuit crumbs in the photo below. You want biscuit crumbs? Here’s your biscuit crumbs!!! 😂

Ingredients you need

Here’s what you need to make this. The first part covers the caramel popcorn, then the second part covers the chocolate drizzle and biscuit crumbs.

Caramel popcorn ingredients

Here’s what you need for the caramel popcorn:

• Corn syrup – This stabilises the caramel to ensure sugar crystallisation doesn’t occur, gives the caramel a nice shiny finish that’s crisp rather than sticky. Common grocery item in the US and Canada ! It can be purchased online in Australia from USAFoods.com.au and Amazon.

  Glucose is a perfect substitute for corn syrup which is available in Australian supermarkets (baking aisle, clear thick syrup with honey consistency). Just a little harder to measure out because it’s so thick. However, the popcorn needs to be baked for 15 minutes longer to make sure the caramel coating dries out and becomes crisp. This is because glucose has slightly higher water content.

• Baking soda / bi-carb – This makes the caramel coating become sort of foamy and increase in volume when you whisk it in. It helps get even coverage of caramel on the popcorn. Without the baking soda, you end up with big globs of caramel. It can’t be substituted with baking powder.

• Toffee, caramel or vanilla essence – Store-bought Gaytime popcorn has a stronger albeit more artificial caramel flavour than homemade. To replicate this, use a caramel or toffee essence. Otherwise, just stick with vanilla like normal caramel popcorn. It’s honestly not a big deal, the popcorn still has a lovely caramel-y flavour.

• Brown sugar rather than white sugar, for better caramel flavour.

• Butter – For flavour. Not margarine or other alternatives. I can’t predict what that will do to the crispness of the caramel coating.

• Oil – Anything neutral flavoured like vegetable, canola or peanut oil. This is for cooking the popcorn. It doesn’t work as well with butter (because butter is ~15% water and dairy, not just fat).

• Popping corn! It’s usually sold in the potato crisps aisle in grocery stores here in Australia.

Chocolate drizzle and biscuit crumbs

For the chocolate drizzle and biscuit crumbs, you just need chocolate suitable for melting and some plain biscuits to crush up then sprinkle on the popcorn.

• Chocolate -You can use a combination of dark and white chocolate, as I have done (like the store-bought Gaytime popcorn mix), or just one or the other.

  Use a chocolate purchased from the baking aisle rather than eating chocolate. Baking chocolate is purpose-made for melting and cooking with, whereas eating chocolate is actually often designed specifically so it doesn’t melt when warm! I typically use “melts” for melting and chocolate chips for things like chocolate chip cookies as they are designed to hold their shape when cookies are baked.

  For those of you in the US, semi-sweet chocolate chips is perfect.

• Plain biscuits – A signature part of Golden Gaytime Popcorn is the sprinkling of crushed biscuits on the popcorn. The ingredients label specifies that it’s vanilla biscuits. Honestly though, any plain sweet biscuits will work just fine!

How to make Golden Gaytime Popcorn

Simply make caramel popcorn then finish with a drizzle of chocolate and sprinkle of biscuit crumbs. It will stay crisp and fresh for at least a week – I’m sure it will last for longer (caramel popcorn lasts for weeks). But every test batch I made mysteriously disappeared before I could finish testing the shelf life!!

1. Pop popcorn

Pop your popcorn kernels using your method of choice – stove or popcorn maker, if you have one (I do, but for some reason digging it out of the back of the cupboard seems like more effort than cooking the popcorn on the stove).

Here’s how to cook popcorn on the stove.

1. Test kernels – Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add a few pieces of popcorn and wait until it pops, then quickly remove.

   Add remaining popcorn, elevate off stove to shake and spread corn out evenly. Cover with a lid.

2. Shake! Once the popcorn starts popping in earnest, shake the pot gently once. Remove from heat when the popping stops (when you can count to 3 between pops) and transfer to a (very!) large bowl.

3. To make the caramel melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar, corn syrup and salt. Stir until just combined.

4. Simmer – When it starts to bubble, simmer for 4 minutes – DO NOT STIR! This may cause the sugar to crystallise so you won’t end up with a smooth caramel.

5. Baking soda “foamy” – Remove from heat then quickly whisk in caramel (toffee or vanilla) and baking soda. When you stop whisking, the caramel will foam and increase in volume. This is what makes the caramel coat the popcorn evenly. Without the baking soda, you end up with thick heavy globs of caramel on the popcorn and it’s impossible to toss.

6. Coat popcorn – Quickly pour the foamy caramel straight over the popcorn and toss to coat the popcorn as best you can until the caramel cools and starts to harden.

7. Bake for 45 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so. The caramel will remelt for the first 2-3 tosses so it coats the popcorn more evenly.

   REMINDER: If using glucose instead of corn syrup, bake for an extra 15 minutes.

8. Cool – Remove from oven, leave to cool on the tray for 20 minutes so the caramel hardens. Then break up the popcorn – no need to be too pedantic, clumps are great!

Gaytime the popcorn!

OK, so time to transform our caramel popcorn into Gaytime Popcorn! Here’s how:

1. Bash the biscuits into crumbs either in a ziplock bag or using a mortar and pestle.

2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave (I use this) or bain-marie (bowl set over simmering water).

3. Transfer the melted chocolate into a piping bag. This makes it easier to get even coverage and zig-zag chocolate drizzles like you get with the store bought Gaytime popcorn. But if you prefer, you can just use a spoon for drizzling.

4. Ready for drizzling!

5. Drizzle the chocolate all over the popcorn in whatever pattern you prefer. There are no rules! Except – aim for even coverage. Nobody wants to be the unlucky person who gets a handful of chocolate-less popcorn!

6. Sprinkle the popcorn with the biscuit crumbs while the chocolate is still wet. The biscuits will stick to the chocolate part only, and it kind of sticks in concentrated (albeit small) patches so you can taste it a little better. I preferred this method rather than sprinkling it on the caramel popcorn whilst in the oven (the crumbs kind of got lost).

   Once the chocolate sets – I speed things up by popping the trays in the fridge for 15 minutes – it’s ready to dive in!!

Storage

In theory, Gaytime Popcorn should stay fresh and crisp as long as Caramel Popcorn which has an excellent shelf life of several weeks.

Test batches made it to around the 1 week mark successfully before mysteriously disappearing. So I can’t say for sure, but I’m confident it should last for at least 2 weeks. Just make sure it is stored in an airtight container in a cool and dry place. If moisture gets in and/or it’s hot and humid, the caramel coating will get sticky and chewy so it gets stuck in your teeth.

This was a jar intended for gifting. It never got gifted. 🤭

REPORT CARD: Homemade is 68% cheaper!!

I boldly stated when I started on the Gaytime Popcorn Project that I believed I could make it for 80% less than store-bought.

We’ve run the numbers and the results are in.

One batch costs $8.96 to make which equates to 5 packets of store bought Gaytime Popcorn which costs $28.75 ($5.75 per packet). That’s a 68% saving!

So, I was 12% off. But still. I would never spend $28.75 for 5 packets of Gaytime. But I would spend $8.96 to make a batch of this any day of the week – and twice for movie night! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Golden Gaytime Popcorn – copycat recipe!

Recipe video above. I love Golden Gaytime Popcorn. But it's expensive. So I decided to create a homemade version – with a 68% saving! It costs $8.96 to make this recipe which equates to 5 packets of Gaytime Popcorn which costs $28.75 ($5.75 per packet). 

After inspecting the packet ingredients, it's just caramel popcorn drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with biscuits crumbs. Easy!

One batch makes 780g / 28oz, 12 cups = 5 packets of store-bought Golden Gaytime popcorn.

Course Dessert, Sweet

Cuisine Western

Keyword caramel corn, Caramel popcorn, food gift ideas, golden gaytime popcorn

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 12 cups

Calories 339cal

Author Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Cost $9

Ingredients

For the popcorn

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (not required if air popping with a popcorn maker)
• 1/2 cup popping corn

For the caramel

• 100g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar , tightly packed cup
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup (sub glucose, Note 1)
• 1/2 tsp cooking/ kosher salt
• 2 tsp toffee or caramel essence OR 1 tsp vanilla (substitute) (Note 2)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda (bi-carb) (Note 3)

Golden Gaytime Finishes

• 1 1/4 cups dark or white chocolate melts or chips (US: semi-sweet chips), I used ~25% white and 75% dark (Note 4)
• 4 plain sweet biscuits (like Marie Crackers) (Note 5)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Popcorn

• Test oil – Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add a few pieces of popcorn and wait until it pops, then quickly remove.
• Pop – Add remaining popcorn, elevate off stove to shake and spread corn out evenly. Cover with a lid. Once the popcorn starts popping in earnest, shake the pot gently once. Then crack the lid a tiny bit – let's steam escape for crisper popcorn.
• Remove from heat when the popping stops (when you can count to 3 between pops) and transfer to a (very!) large bowl.

Caramel:

• Preheat oven to 110°C/230°F (both fan and standard ovens).
• Combine – Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar, corn syrup and salt. Stir until just combined.
• Simmer – When it starts to bubble, simmer for 4 minutes – DO NOT STIR!
• Baking soda "foamy" – Remove from heat then quickly whisk in caramel (toffee or vanilla) and baking soda. When you stop whisking, the caramel will foam and increase in volume.
• Coat popcorn – Quickly pour straight over popcorn, toss until caramel cools and starts to harden.

Baking to crisp caramel coating:

• Spread popcorn on 2 large paper lined baking trays.
• Bake for 45 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so. Caramel will remelt for the first 2-3 tosses – tossing coats popcorn more evenly with caramel. (If using glucose, bake further 15 minutes).
• Cool – Remove from oven, leave to cool on the tray for 20 minutes. Then break up the popcorn – no need to be too pedantic, clumps are great!

Drizzle and crumbs

• Crumbs – Place biscuits in a ziplock bag and bash into crumbs.
• Melt chocolate – Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and microwave in 30 second increments on high, stirring in between, until melted and smooth – about 1 1/2 minutes. (If doing a small amount of white chocolate, reduce to 20 second increments).
• Piping bags – Transfer chocolate into a piping bag. Use scissors to snip a small opening at the tip. (Alternative: just drizzle with a spoon).
• Drizzle & crumb – Push the popcorn together but in a single layer. Drizzle criss-cross (or any pattern!) all over the popcorn. Sprinkle with biscuits crumbs while the chocolate is wet so it sticks.
• Fridge – Refrigerate for 15 minutes until the chocolate is firm. Gently break popcorn into pieces. EAT!
• Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Stays crisp for at least a week. Our test batches never lasted any longer!

Notes

1. Corn Syrup  stabilises the caramel to ensure sugar crystallisation doesn’t occur, plus makes it extra crisp and shiny. Common grocery item in the US and Canada ! Can be purchased online in Australia from USAFoods.com.au (here) and Amazon.

Glucose is a perfect substitute for corn syrup which is available in Australian supermarkets (baking aisle, clear thick syrup with honey consistency). Just a little harder to measure out because it’s so thick. However, the popcorn needs to be baked for 15 minutes longer (because glucose as higher water content).

2. Toffee or caramel essence – Store bought Gaytime has a stronger albeit more artificial caramel flavour than homemade. To replicate this, use a caramel or toffee essence. Otherwise, just stick with vanilla like normal caramel popcorn!

3. Baking soda/bi-carb – This makes the caramel coating become sort of foamy and increase in volume when you whisk it in. Helps with even coverage on the popcorn. Without, you end up with big globs of caramel.

4. Chocolate – Store bought Gaytime popcorn has ~50/50 white and dark chocolate drizzles. And rather skimpy at that! This homemade version is much more generous with the chocolate.

Use any mix of dark and white chocolate you want. I used about 25% white chocolate and 75% dark chocolate.

Be sure to use the right chocolate! Use chocolate purchased from the baking aisle (designed to melt smoothly) not eating chocolate (designed to NOT melt when warm!).

5. Biscuits – Any plain sweet biscuits will work here. Just something to sprinkle on the popcorn. The Gaytime Popcorn ingredients just lists “vanilla biscuits” for the crumbs used!

6. Storage – stays 100% crisp and fresh at least 1 week, probably more (caramel popcorn lasts 2 to 3 weeks). Be sure to keep it in an airtight container in a cool dry place. If it’s super hot and humid, fridge is best.

Nutrition per serving assuming 12 servings. It’s not diet food!

Nutrition

Serving: 46g | Calories: 339cal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 166mg | Potassium: 101mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 223IU | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Life of Dozer

I promise Dozer, there is nothing going on in here that would be of interest to you…..😂

The post Golden Gaytime popcorn (copycat) appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

This Christmas Popcorn should come with a warning. It’s dangerously addictive, and will be the likely cause of many sugar crash sofa naps during this holiday season!

It’s my caramel corn with a Christmas twist – traditional festive spices and a sprinkle of almonds. It makes for great Christmas candy snacks as well as food gifts that’s easy to make in bulk, economical and lasts for 2 – 3 weeks.

Christmas Popcorn

While everybody likes a good Caramel Popcorn, it really is just flat out sweet, and that’s it (but I still love you, Caramel Popcorn, don’t worry).

On the other hand, this caramel popcorn is far beyond just sweet. It’s loaded with warm Christmas spices and is studded with nutty almond for extra crunch. It is insanely, completely and ridiculously addictive!

What you need for Christmas Popcorn

Here’s what you need to make this:

• Popcorn kernels – Just plain popping kernels

• Holiday spices – I’ve use a mix reminiscent of Gingerbread Men, but you could even just use cinnamon alone and it would still be wonderful!

• Corn syrup (or glucose) – This is required to ensure the caramel doesn’t crystallise, ie. when instead of turning into liquid, you end up with sugar grains. You can make caramel without it, but it’s a bit temperamental so corn syrup helps makes it a sure thing.

Corn syrup is not sold in Australian grocery stores but that’s not a problem. Just use glucose instead. It’s just a thicker form of corn syrup which works just as well. I get corn syrup online from USA Foods because I make caramel popcorn regularly for bribing gifting!

Other substitutions: golden syrup is best for the dry crisp coating. Honey also works but it does add extra flavour.

• Baking soda / bi-carb soda – An important ingredient which makes the caramel foam up and lighten a bit so you get a more even, thin coverage on the popcorn surface (rather than thick globs that get stuck in your teeth);

• Brown sugar – Better than white, for extra caramel flavours;

• Salt – Just a touch, to balance out all the sweetness; and

• Almonds – Because I think of nuts when I think of Christmas candy! Switch it out with literally any other nut you want – or seeds like pepitas, sunflower seeds or anything else that will hold up in the oven.

How to make Christmas Popcorn Candy

1. The Popcorn

You can either air pop the popcorn using a popcorn machine – in which case no oil is required – or cook it on the stove.

PRO TIP: While air popped popcorn is fat-free, it is not as crispy as stove popped popcorn!

2.Christmas Caramel for Popcorn

Plonk ➔ Simmer ➔ whisk!

1. Combine the sugar, butter and corn syrup in a saucepan;

2. Once it starts foaming, simmer for 4 minutes without stirring;

3. Take it off the stove, then add the spices and baking soda; and …

4. Foam it! Whisk vigorously and you’ll notice that the caramel increases in volume slightly and becomes a bit foamy. It looks a bit like candy honeycomb. This is due to the baking soda and is key to achieving a thin even coverage of caramel over all the popcorn. Without the baking soda, you end up with thick globs of caramel that gets stuck in your teeth when you eat the popcorn.

3. Bake to crisp it!

1. Pour the caramel over the popcorn;

2. Toss well to coat, add the almonds and keep tossing. You won’t be able to get an even coating at this stage because the caramel will harden too quickly. But don’t worry, we’ll fix this during the oven tossing stage!

3. Bake & toss! Spread the popcorn across two lined baking trays, then bake in a low 110°C/230°F oven for 45 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so. Baking makes the caramel melt again so it can continue spreading over the popcorn in a more even coating as you continue to toss it. It also dries the popcorn and caramel coating so the caramel coating is brittle and crisp instead of sticky and chewy;

4. Cool on the trays then break it up into small or large chunks before storing in airtight containers or bags.

What to do with Christmas Popcorn Candy

This particular type of Caramel Popcorn is new to my stable of recipes so I haven’t used it to its full potential yet! But here’s what I envisage:

1. Bribing Gifting – Who doesn’t love a homemade edible gift?? (Bonus that it’s super-duper economical, easy to make in bulk and has a shelf life of 2 – 3 weeks!)

2. Nibbly-style dessert – If your family is anything like mine, we inevitably go all out on the mains and tap out before dessert, leaving us too full to eat a full size, proper dessert. So snack-size sweet treats like this are ideal. I am forever scarred by the giant gingerbread house I made once which took me hours to construct, only to be completely rejected by the entire family because everyone was so full after dinner. Only the chimney got eaten. Reluctantly, at that!! I was seriously peeved shattered, and vowed never again to make an enormous effort for Christmas dinner dessert; and

3. Candy – Certainly with the amount of sugar in this, it totally qualifies as a candy! And it has the shelf life of candy too (2 -3 weeks).

Of course, it also makes for an excellent secret stash of treats, just for yourself. Shh! I won’t tell if you don’t… – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Christmas Popcorn Candy

Recipe video above. This is Caramel Popcorn, dressed up for Christmas! Perfumed with warm traditional Christmas spices and studded with almonds, it is outrageously addictive.

Great as a snacky dessert option, for gifting and store-like candy. Stays crispy 2 – 3 weeks!

Baking soda makes the caramel coating foamy so it coats the popcorn thinly and evenly, rather than in sticky globs.

CARAMEL COVERAGE: Use 1/3 cup kernels for full caramel coverage (very sweet, like candy pieces, pictured in post), 3/4 cup for a lighter coating (still sweet enough but you get some white patches, see this photo for comparison)

Course Dessert, Sweet

Cuisine Western

Keyword caramel corn, Caramel popcorn, christmas candy, christmas popcorn, food gift ideas

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 8 – 12

Calories 210cal

Author Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

For the popcorn

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (not required if air popping with a popcorn maker)
• 1/3 cup popping corn (10 cups popcorn, Note 1 for lighter caramel coverage)
• 2/3 cup slivered almonds

For the caramel

• 100g / 7 tbsp butter , unsalted
• 1 cup brown sugar , packed
• 1/2 cup (170g) corn syrup , light (substitute glucose, Note 2)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Christmas Spices

• 3 tsp cinnamon powder
• 2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp allspice powder (or more cinnamon)
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves (or more cinnamon)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Popcorn

• Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add a few pieces of popcorn and wait until it pops, then quickly remove.
• Add remaining popcorn, elevate off stove to shake and spread corn out evenly. Cover with a lid. Once the popcorn starts popping in earnest, shake the pot gently once.
• Remove from heat when the popping almost stops (when you can count to 3 between pops) and transfer to a (very!) large bowl. You need 10 cups of popcorn.

Caramel:

• Preheat oven to 110°C/230°F.
• Melt butter in a saucepaan over medium heat.
• Add sugar, corn syrup (or glucose) and salt. Stir until just combined.
• When it starts to bubble, simmer for 4 minutes – DO NOT STIR!
• Remove from heat then quickly whisk in Christmas Spices, vanilla and baking soda. Whisk vigorously for 10 seconds, then when you stop whisking, the caramel will foam and increase in volume.
• Quickly pour straight over popcorn, toss to coat.
• Sprinkle over the almonds, and toss again until caramel cools and starts to harden.

Baking to crisp:

• Spread popcorn across 2 baking trays.
• Bake for 45 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so. Caramel will remelt for the first 2-3 tosses – tossing further coats popcorn more evenly with caramel. (If using glucose instead of corn syrup, bake further 15 minutes).
• Remove from oven, leave to cool. Gently break into pieces then transfer to airtight container for storage. Stays crisp 2 – 3 weeks!

Notes

1. Caramel coverage – 1/3 cup popcorn kernels will give you a generous, full caramel coating on each popcorn. This makes the popcorn like candy – it’s very sweet! I use 3/4 cups popcorn for “normal” coverage – it’s still sweet, but not intensely sweet where every piece feels like you’re eating candy. See in post for photo comparison.

2. Corn Syrup is called for to stabilise the caramel to ensure sugar crystallisation doesn’t occur. Corn syrup is a common grocery item in the US and Canada – I stock up every time I go! It can be purchased online in Australia from USAFoods.com.au (here).

Glucose is a perfect substitute for corn syrup which is available in Australian supermarkets (look in the baking aisle; it’s a clear, thick syrup with honey-like consistency). However, the popcorn needs to be baked for 15 minutes longer (because glucose as higher water content).

More subs – golden syrup, honey or maple syrup. For these, bake popcorn further 15 min.

3. Storage – Stays 100% crisp and fresh for 2 – 3 weeks in an airtight container!

Nutrition

Serving: 46g | Calories: 210cal | Carbohydrates: 27.6g | Protein: 0.8g | Fat: 11.7g | Saturated Fat: 7.3g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 663mg | Potassium: 6mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23.1g | Vitamin A: 400IU | Iron: 0.2mg

Life of Dozer

I’d be pretty happy if I found a Dozer under MY Christmas Tree…..

The post Christmas Popcorn Candy appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Never again suffer soggy popcorn – this Butter Popcorn stays crispy for DAYS! Slightly sweet, lightly salty, with a heavenly real butter flavour, this is a much healthier alternative to other snacks and is 100% addictive.

Lightly Sweet ‘n Salty Butter Popcorn

Anyone who has attempted butter popcorn probably did what we all tried at some point: Douse fresh popcorn with regular melted better. Seems obvious enough, right? Only … you found after 10 minutes your popcorn turned soggy and sad (and totally ruined your movie night).

The reason it goes soggy is because butter contains 15% water. Yes, water is what is making your popcorn soggy!

So if you’re wondering how to keep popcorn from going soggy, the secret is to use clarified butter instead of normal butter. Clarified butter is just butter with the water evaporated out!

What you need for Lightly Sweet ‘n Salty Butter Popcorn

Here’s what you need: Popcorn kernels, salt, icing sugar/powdered sugar and clarified butter to keep the popcorn crispy (it’s just simmered normal butter! Read on…).

Popcorn kernels

Just normal popcorn kernels. Make the popcorn any way you like – stove or popcorn maker. I’ve provided directions in the recipe card for stovetop popcorn.

Clarified butter (or ghee)

• Why you need it – For an intense buttery flavour, and keeping your popcorn crispy instead of going soggy like with normal butter, as explained above;

• How to make it (else buy it) – Melt butter and simmer for 10 minutes to evaporate the water content. See separate recipe for full directions – How to make Clarified Butter and Ghee.

Note: Ghee is a purer form of clarified butter that is used in Indian cooking. It tastes virtually the same as Clarified Butter which is more associated with European cookery (like Swiss Potato Rosti!), but it’s slightly nuttier (which is delicious!)

“Popcorn Salt“

• Why you need it – Normal salt grains are too large to stick to popcorn. As you eat the popcorn it falls off and all ends up at the bottom of the bowl! We need finer salt, purpose-made for popcorn, that will stick.

• How to make it – Just grind ordinary salt into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle, or a spice grinder. It takes seconds.

• How much to use – I only use 1/2 teaspoon of popcorn salt for 13 cups of popcorn (which is 2/3 cup of kernels). This does not sound like much, but remember it’s much finer now and has halved in volume from the original regular salt. Also this popcorn is deliberately made to be only slightly salty because it also gets flavour from a touch of added sweetness. If you prefer just salted popcorn, add a little more.

Icing sugar / powdered sugar

• Why you need it – Dusting the popcorn for a lightly sweet note. We need icing sugar/powdered sugar because normal sugar won’t stick to popcorn unless you use lots and you melt it, like with Caramel Popcorn or my variation of it, Christmas Popcorn Candy!

• How to do it – Use a small sieve to sprinkle the icing/powdered sugar over the popcorn, for even coverage and to remove lumps.

• How much to use – I only use 2 tablespoons which makes it lightly sweet. Because the whole point of this popcorn is that it’s slightly sweet and slightly salty, an addictive and can’t-stop-nibbling combination that won’t leave you reaching for glass after glass of water!

Storage: Keeping Butter Popcorn crispy for days!

Using clarified butter instead of normal butter means the popcorn will stay crispy for ages. 12-hour Star Wars marathon? Too easy. I’m talking days here! Super-handy snack stash, school lunches, and making ahead for parties.

As soon as the popcorn has fully cooled, transfer to an airtight container and store it in the pantry. Here are a few tips:

• It will go stale sooner or later though! Popcorn does go stale quite quickly, being the fragile little things they are, so don’t leave them lying around uncovered for a long if you want to preserve freshness for another day;

• Fully cool – Make sure it’s fully cool before putting the lid on. Impatience with this step results in condensation inside the container which will make your popcorn soggy (and so you will have come full circle🤣);

• Bake to resuscitate – If your popcorn has gone a bit stale and needs a perk up, pour it into a baking pan (up to about 5cm/2″ deep is fine) then bake in a low 110°C/230°F oven for 30 minutes to dry it out. Note: There will be slight shrinkage.

So now you know the secrets to stay-crispy, ultra-buttery homemade popcorn! Well actually, those of you who are familiar with my Yellow Movie Popcorn recipe already know these tricks. We’re just bringing everyone else up to speed!

In case you need a reason to get on the Popcorn Train, here’s 6 reasons why you should should try homemade butter popcorn:

1. Really buttery flavour you can’t get from pre-made shop stuff!

2. Easy to make in large volumes;

3. Healthier than most snacks;

4. Versatile (eg. sweet Caramel Popcorn, Christmas Popcorn Candy or savoury Movie Popcorn);

5. Cheap; and

6. Has fun factor that appeals to kids and grown ups alike!

Movie night tonight?? – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Print

Lightly Sweet ‘n Salty CRISPY Butter Popcorn

Recipe video above. This is a homemade version of a very popular, slightly sweet and lightly salty Butter Popcorn sold at grocery stores (Cobs brand, for those of you in Australia!). I love it, and replicated it so I could serve giant bowls of it when I have friends around. It's always a hit!

BONUS: It stays crispy for days! The secret is clarified butter which is 100% fat, and no water. Normal butter is 15% water so it what makes popcorn soggy. It's a Movie Popcorn secret!

Course Snacks

Cuisine Western

Keyword butter popcorn, stovetop popcorn

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 13 cups

Calories 65cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Popcorn:

• 2/3 cup popping corn
• 2 tbsp clarified butter or ghee , or oil, for stovetop popcorn(Note 1)

"Popcorn Salt":

• 1 tbsp salt (you won't use it all, Note 2)

Flavourings:

• 3 tbsp clarified butter or ghee , melted (Note 1)
• 1/2 tsp Popcorn Salt (per directions below)
• 2 tbsp icing sugar / powdered sugar

Instructions

Pop Popcorn

• Pop the kernels using your method of choice – either popcorn maker or stove (see next section)

Stovetop Popcorn

• Heat fat: Melt clarified butter in a large pot over medium high heat (medium for strong stoves). Add a few kernels of popcorn and wait until they pop – this means the oil is now hot enough. Quickly remove test popcorn.
• Add popcorn: Add remaining popcorn, lift pot off stove to shake and spread corn out evenly. Cover with a lid and return to heat. Once the popping really gets going, shake the pot gently once.
• Done! Remove from heat when the popping largely stops (3 seconds between pops) and transfer to a (very!) large bowl.

"Popcorn Salt"

• Place salt in a mortar and pestle then grind into a fine powder. You could also do this using a spice grinder. You won't use it all, but it's harder to work with a smaller quantity than this.

Sprinkle & toss!

• Drizzle melted clarified butter all over the popcorn surface. Sprinkle with half the salt, then use small sieve to dust with half the icing sugar.
• Toss very well in large bowl. Then sprinkle with remaining salt and dust with remaining icing sugar. Toss well again. At this stage you can add more sugar or salt, to your taste. The above quantities make it slightly salty and lightly sweet which to me is the perfect balance!

Notes

1. The secret to popcorn that stays crispy is to use clarified butter or ghee (same thing). It’s butter with all water removed so it has a more intense butter flavour and it won’t make your popcorn soggy.

Clarified butter & ghee firms up to a peanut butter like consistency when cool in the pantry, and into a very hard paste in the fridge. Just scoop and melt in the pot.

You’ll find ghee sold in jars in the Indian section of large supermarkets (Coles/Woolies) and Indian grocers. Or make your own – it’s super easy and cheaper, lasts for 3 months in the pantry and you will use it to pan-fry and roast everything!

In Europe/UK, clarified butter in jars is also quite common.

2. “Popcorn Salt” – You need to grind salt into a fine powder otherwise it won’t stick to the popcorn, it all ends up in the bottom of the bowl.

3. Storage – Transfer to airtight container as soon as it has fully cooled. It will stay quite crispy for days! Stovetop popped popcorn is crispier than air-popped (ie. popcorn maker).

Reviving popcorn: If your stored popcorn is softer than you’d like on retrieval, bake it at 110C/230F for 30 minutes (you can fill the pan 5cm/2″ deep), no stirring required. This makes it super crispy again!

4. Nutrition per cup of popcorn.

Nutrition

Calories: 65cal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 179mg | Potassium: 23mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Iron: 1mg

Life of Dozer

I huff and puff and express exasperation that he squishes his way into my already crowded shoot area…. but you and I both know that I secretly love that he’s always around!😂

The post Lightly Sweet ‘n Salty CRISPY Butter Popcorn appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.